Rumsfeld To Calderon: Exercises Will Continue

St. Kitts Possible Vieques Alternative

SAN JUAN  The first Latin heavy-weight boxing champion, John Ruiz, arrived Thursday at noon at the Isla Grande airport, where he was greeted as a national hero by the governor, members of the Legislature, fellow boxers, and residents from all over the island who filled the area in hopes of getting a closer glimpse of one of their own.

Waving Puerto Rican flags and carrying signs that read "welcome home," a crowd estimated at about 1,500 danced to the beat of the "plena" and cheered as Ruiz, holding his World Boxing Association title belt, stepped out of the private jet that brought him to the land of his parents from his native Boston, Mass.

"This belt, this championship is for all of you," said a smiling Ruiz.

Forgotten was the controversy started by middleweight boxing champion Felix "Tito" Trinidad's father who questioned Ruiz's welcome as a national hero because he was not born in Puerto Rico.

"For me, it's a great satisfaction to come home because I'm Puerto Rican, and every time I go into the boxing ring, I do it for my family and for Puerto Rico," Ruiz said.

Mercado also put an end to the controversy when he said Ruiz is part of the "extended Puerto Rican family of the United States."

Geneva - A group of Puerto Rican attorneys told a U.N. human rights commission in Geneva on Wednesday that the U.S. Navy was using the residents of Vieques Island as guinea pigs by exposing them to toxic substances that include depleted uranium during live-fire exercises.

Fermin Araiza and Jose J. Nazario were two of the members of the American Association of Jurists that are in Geneva to file a grievance with the U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights and the World Health Organization (WHO).

At a news conference at U.N. headquarters in Geneva, Araiza and Nazario accused the United States of exposing the more than 9,000 Vieques Island residents to health risks.

The attorneys claim the U.S. military has contaminated the land, air, water, plants and even the entire food chain on Vieques Island.

SAN JUAN (AP) - Craig Quigley, spokesman for the Defense Department, said in published reports that the training of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier in Vieques before leaving to the Mediterranean Sea by the end of April is yet to be decided.

Quigley declined to disclose any final decision on the matter during a press conference in Washington. He also didn't want to condition future military practices in Vieques to the pending results of the vibroacoustic study in the island municipality.

Quigley also said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is concerned about the readiness of the U.S. Armed Forces, but that "a final decision on the USS Enterprise simply hasn't been made."

Gov. Sila Calderon made public on Tuesday the letters exchanged between her administration and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in which the later announced that military practices would continue in Vieques, even if the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has not completed the health studies in the municipality.

In his letter issued March 9, Rumsfeld also asks the governor to guarantee the safety of the "young men and women serving in the military at the fence line." This is in reference to Calderon's decision to pull back the Police Riot Squad from the fence at Camp Garcia.

Although he sustained that he was "encouraged" by the "dialogue" started between him and Calderon, he said the facilities "owned by the U.S. Navy on Vieques remain an important element of our national defense readiness," and therefore, the military practices will continue.

"In accordance with existing agreements, we plan to proceed with training as required to maintain an appropriate level of readiness," Rumsfeld said in his letter.

In her reply issued March 13, Calderon said he had "reassured" her that he would comply with Navy Secretary Richard Danzing's pledge that the health studies would be completed "before the next scheduled use of the range."

"I must ask if the general reference to the `existing agreements' specifically includes the pledge made by Secretary Danzing on Jan. 17, which you reaffirmed in our meeting," Calderon said in her letter.

Regarding Rumsfeld's request for ensured safety at Camp Garcia, the governor said that as per their earlier conversation, she would "take prompt action in relation to any violence."

And even though Rumsfeld informed Calderon of the intentions of resuming military practices on Vieques, Calderon said "a process of conversations" continues.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis would welcome the military exercises that Puerto Rico is trying to shut down on the island of Vieques , a member of Congress has told the Pentagon.

"Given the combination of an ally that seeks greater military presence and our future needs in the Southern Hemisphere in terms of security, training and interdiction, I encourage you to consider the possibility of entering into a new military relationship with the country of St. Kitts and Nevis," Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., wrote to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Both islands are located almost at the same longitude and latitude as Vieques, hence offering the same strategic position as the island municipality, according to Weldon.

"[ Prime Minister Danzel Douglas] expressed a sincere interest in pursuing the possibility of having a substantial U.S. military presence in St. Kitts and Nevis," Weldon wrote, adding, "This may prove to be a resolution to our impending training crisis due to the probable future loss of Vieques ."